Safety mechanism for wire-machines.



I. CET'NAROWSKI.

SAFETY MECHANISM FOR WIRE MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I4. ISIS.

WITNESS M www uns m.. mow-uma. wAsAmcmN. a. c.

1. CETNAROWSKI.

SAFETY MECHANISM FOR WIRE MACHNES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14. 1916.

1,206,092. Patented-Nov. 28, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wl'rNzss n mvENTcn J'. CETNABOWSKL SAFETY MEcHANlsM FOR WIRE MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14. 1916.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR WITNESS @430' JOHN CETNAROWSKI, OF IVIONESSEN BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETY MECHANISM FOR WIRE-MACHINS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented NOV. 28, 1916.

Application filed April 14, 1916. Serial No. 91,071.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JOHN CETNARowsxI, a citizen of the United States, and residing in the borough of Monessen, in the county of Westmoreland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Safety Mechanism for lVire-h/Jlachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machinery for drawing wire, and consists in new and improved means for preventing accidents.

In the operation of wire mills, serious accidents frequently occur as the result of the snarling or kinking of the wire as it approaches the die, the breaking of the wire between the die and the block, or the catoliing of a portion of the workmans clothing or person in the machinery.

The object which I have in view is the prevention of such accidents.

For the accomplishment of this obgect, I provide automatic means whereby in case the wire becomes snarled or unduly kinked as it approaches the die or the wire breaks, the machine will at once cease operation, and I also provide conveniently placed hand operated means for shutting off the power from the block in case a portion of the workmans clothing or person becomes caught in the machinery.

Many novel features of construction and arrangement of parts will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which are merely intended to illustrate the principles of my invention and not tol limit the scope of the same to the construction shown, Figure l is a front elevation of a wire machine fitted with my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, with portions of the frame cut away for the sake of clearness; Fig. 3 is an end view of the same looking toward the right in Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section along the line IV-IV in Fig. l; Fig. 5 is a similar view along the line V-V in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail, in plan and in section, showing the guide head bar and the operative parts connected'therewith; Fig. 7 is a side-elevation of the die box, a portion of the machine frame being shown in vertical section; Fig. 8 is a plan view of said box; Fig. 9 is a broken diagrammatic view showing the wire block and a portion of its control mechanism; Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the guide head of enlarged scale, andFig. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing the handlever mechanism.

The following iS a detailed descriptiony of the drawings. f

The wire mill upon which my invention is illustrated in the drawings is. of the usual type including a table or frame upon which are mounted the die box A and the wire block B, the wire being drawn through the dies by the rotation of the block about which the wire is wound. rIhe frame of the mac hine is shown composed of longitudinal side members 1 and la; cross bars Q, 2a and 2b, and vertical legs or'supports Vin pairs, 3, 3a, 3b and 3c.

The die box A, in which the dies, not shown, are mounted in the usual manner, is mounted on the frame by means of a bolt 4 depending from the box and engaging a longitudinal slot 5in the bracket 6 carried by the frame. Thus the box is capable of both swinging and longitudinal movement relative to the frame.

The tension of the wire a passing through the dies and being wound about the block serves to' draw said die box rearwardly along the frame until the bolt 4 contacts with the rear end of the slotv. In case the wire a breaks, this tension or rearward pull .on the die box is relieved, and said box is free to be moved forwardly along the slot 5.

In the front portion of the box A is the usual grease compartment 7 wherein'a supply of grease is maintained to lubricate the wire as it enters the die.

B is 'the power driven block on which the wire is wound after it leaves the die and which pulls the wirethrough the die.

C is the vertical driving shaft provided-onits upper end with the clutch member 8 which, when the machine is in operation, engages the teeth or downward proj ections 901i the bottom of the block to rotate the latter. The upper end of said shaft is reduced and extends up into the bore of the block, so that the block may slide upwardly and remain idle while the shaft revolves. When the block is raised, so that the teeth l9 no longer engage with the clutch member 8, the block becomes idle, while the shaft may continue to revolve.

The raising of the block out of engage ment with the clutch member 8 is accomplished by means of the usual releasing lever D, pivoted to the machine frame, as at 10, and provided with a forked short lend which extends under the block B. It is evident that aV depression of the long end of the lever D will result in elevating the block B and rendering it inoperative.

The long end of the lever D is connected by a link 11 with a cross-lever 12, one of whose ends is pivoted to the machine frame, as at 13, while the other end of lever 12 extends through a vertical slot 14 in one of the legs 3b of the frame. It is evident that a depression of the lever 12 will throw the block B out of operative connection with the shaft C and stop the machine, while the elevation of said lever 12 will permit said block to descend into operative engagement with said shaft.

When the machine is in operation, the free end ofthe lever 12 is held raised by means of a shoulder 15 on the locking bar 16 which bar is centrally pivoted on a bolt 17 protruding from the leg 3b and engaging a transverse slot 18 in said bar. It is evident that when the locking bar is in the position shown in Fig. 1, said bar will hold the lever 12 elevated, but when in the position shown in Fig. 9 said locking bar no longer supports said lever but the latter will drop into its depressed position, throwing the block B into its inoperative position.

The outer end of the lever 12 engages a longitudinal slot 19 in the hand lever 2() whose forward end is pivoted to the machine frame, as by link 21. It is evident that by means of said hand lever the lever 12 may be raised, when the machine is to be put into operation, so that the shoulder 15 of the locking bar 16 may engage and hold said lever 12 elevated.

22 is a strong helical spring, having its forward end secured to the frame and its rear end secured to the connecting rod 23 whose rear end is in turn pivoted to the upper end of the bar 16. Thus the tendency of the spring 22 is to draw the bar 16 from engagement with the lever 12, permitting said lever to drop. 24 is a long lever whose rear end is pivoted to the upper end of the bar 16 and whose forward end slides in the guide 25 on the frame and is then bent upwardly at an angle to engage a curved trans- -verse slot 26 in the forward end of the box A.

It is evident that the swinging of the die box during the operation of they machine will not affect the lever 24 but, while said box is held in its rearward position, in relation to theslot 5, by the tension of the wire a passing through the die kand being wound up on the block B, the lever 24 will hold the locking bar 16 in its operative position against the action of the spring 22. However, "should the wire a break, thus relieving the tension or pull on the box A, the resistance of the lever 24 to the action of the spring 22 would be weakened, and said spring would draw the upper end of the locking bar 16 forwardly, thus releasing the lever 12 and stopping the machine. Thus the breaking of the wire between the die and the block will at once automatically stop the machine.

E is the wire guide head provided with arelatively large orifice or opening 27 through which the wire freely passes from the supplying reel, not shown, to the dies. The wire shifts laterally and vertically as it passes to the dies, and this action is taken advantage of in greasing the wire.

2S is a face plate mounted on the front or outer face of the guide head E and provided with a smaller opening 29 of proper size to permit the unsnarled Vwire to slide through but to resist and prevent the passage of a snarl in said wire. The neck or upper portion of said plate 28 is provided with a vertical slot 30 which is engaged by a headed pin or bolt 31 extending from the face of the head E. Thus said plate 2S moves freely over the face of the guide head with the moving wire.

The guide head E is rigidly mounted on a stem 32 which is pivoted, to Yswing transversely to the longitudinal movement of the wire a, in the upper end of a bar 33 which, in turn, is pivoted to swing between a pair of fixed standards 34 in the plane of the movement of the wire a.

F is a curved lever or sector, pivoted intermediateof its ends to a bracket 35 on the machine frame. 36 is a link connecting the lower end of said sector to the lower end of the bar 33. 37 is a lever having its for-Y ward end engaging a slot 38 in the upper end of the sector F, while the other end of said lever 37 is pivoted to the rear of the machine frame, as at 39. The levery 37 crosses over the lever 12 and is pivotally connected therewith, as at 40.

It is evident that when the lower end -of the bar 33 is swung outwardly, away from the machine, the upper end of the sector F will be swung inwardly and downwardly, depressing the forward end of the lever 37 and with it the lever 12, thus throwing the block B into its inoperative position and stopping the machine, assuming that the bar 16 be unlocked from said lever 12.

The method of disengaging the bar 16 from the lever 12 is as follows: Gis a bell crank plate, horizontally pivoted on a fixed pivot 41. is a rod connecting one end of plate Gr with the lower end of locking bar 16. 43 is a lever pivotally connected to the other end of plate Gr. The other end of lever 43 is curved, substantially as shown in Fig. .6, and extends thro-ugh a guideway 44 in the lower portion of one of the standards 34. '45 is a shoulder or angular projection on the lever which is engaged by Vthe notch 46 on the lower end of the bar .33,

so that when the lower end of said bar is swung outwardly, said lever 13 will be kicked outwardly also, thus drawing the locking bar 16 out of engagement with the lever 12.. rlhus, it is seen that when the foot of the bar 33 swings outwardly, the lever 12 is unlocked andelevated, thereby stopping the machine. l

The curved form of the lever 13 causes the projection 45 to move laterally out of the way of the bar 33, as the lever moves forwardly in the guideway 44 after the kicking etl'ect, thus permitting the bar to continue its swing unimpeded.

The loose mounting of the face plate 28 on the guide head E and the transverse pivoting of the stem 32 permit free lateral and vertical movement of the wire as it passes from the supply reel to the dies.

In case a. snarled or badly kinked portion of the wire reaches the guide head E, it cannot pass through the small hole or opening 29 in the face plate 2S, so that the rotation of the block B, pulling on the wire, will swing the guide head inwardly toward the machine, while the foot of the bar 33 will swing outwardly away from the machine. This movement will result, as eX- plained, in releasing the locking bar 16 and depressing the lever 12, thus stopping the machine at once, and preventing a serious accident.

To enable the workman to stop the machine quickly, as when a portion of his clothing or person becomes caught in the machinery or is in danger of being so caught, I provide a hand lever 17, pivoted to the frame at a convenient point, so as to be in easy reach of the workman attending the machine. The lower end of said hand lever is connected by a link 18 with one end of a bell crank plate H pivotally mounted on the frame and having its other end connected by a link L19 to the upper end of a swing lever 50, pivoted at its center to one of the legs 3a. A rod 51 connects the lower end of lever 50 to the plate Gr, as shown. Thus when said hand lever is operated, the locking bar 16 will be disengaged from the lever 12, and said lever' be allowed to drop, throwing the block B into its inoperative position, and stopping the machine.

It is evident from the foregoing, that my invention provides a complete safety mechanism for wire mills and similar apparatus, furnishing means for stopping the machinery in case of impending or.occurring accidents.

'When the machine is to be started, after stoppage, the hand lever 20 is raised, thus raising the lever 12 and restoring the block B to operative connection with the shaft C, and the locking bar 16 is then engaged with the lever 12 to hold the latter elevated.

l/Vhen the stoppage of the machine is caused by a snarl in the wire engaging the guide head E, a removal of said snarl will permit the guide head to be swung back into its normal position, thus by reversing the operation above described, restoring the lever 12 to its raised position, the locking bar 16 to its operative position in engagement with said lever 12, and the block B to operative connection with the power shaft C.

When the stoppage of the machine is caused by the breaking of the wire between the dies and the block, the machine may be returned to operative condition by causing the die block to again retreat along the slot 5 to permit the locking bar 16 vto rengage with the lever 12.

I is a weight hung from `the forward end of the lever 37, so that when the locking-bar 1G is released from the lever 12, the weighted lever' 37 will automatically cause said -lever 12 to drop and throw the block B upwardly from engagement with the shaft C, this stopping the machine.

What I desire to claim is- 1. In combination with a wire mill pro- Y vided with a winding block and a die through which said block draws the wire, said die being movable toward and away from Said block and being normally held in proximity thereby by the tension of the wire, clutch mechanism for the application of power to said block, a locking device adapted to hold said clutch mechanism in its operative position, resilient connection between said locking device and the frame of the mill tending to disengage said locking device, and operative connection between said locking device and said die whereby said locking device is held in its engaged position when the wire is being drawn through said die but said locking device is disengaged by said resilient connection when the wire tension is interrupted.

2. In combination with a wire mill provided with a winding block and a die through which said block draws the wire, said die being movable toward and away from said block and being normally held in proximity thereto by the tension of the wire, clutch mechanism for the application of power to said block, means engaging said clutch mechanism and tending to disengage it from its operative position, a locking member normally engaging said clutch mechanism to hold it in its operative position, spring means engaging said locking member and tending to throw the latter out of engagement with said clutch member, and operative connection between said die and said locking member whereby while the wire tension is maintained said locking member is held in its operative position but when said tension is interrupted said lock- ,ing member is released and is thrown by said spring means into its inoperative position.

3. In a wire machine, a die, a block adapted to draw the wire through said die, power mechanism adapted to be connected to said block to rotate the latter, a releasing lever adapted to disengage said block from said power mechanism, a second lever pivotally supported intermediate of its ends, operative connection between the lower end of said second lever and said releasing lever, and a perforated guide on the upper end of said lever through which the unsnarled wire. passes freely but which will be engaged by a snarled portion of the wire swinging said second lever and causing said releasing lever to operate.

l. In combination with the die and winding block of a wire mill, clutch mechanism vadapted to apply power to said block, a

lever pivoted intermediate of its ends to swing in a plane at right angles to said mill, a stem pivoted to the upper end of said lever to swing inv a plane parallel'with said mill, a perforated guide mounted on the upper end of said stem through which the unsnarled wire passes freely but through which the snarled wire will not pass, and operative lever and said clutch mechanism wherebyVY when a snarled portion of the wire engages said guide and the lower end of said lever is swung away from the mill said clutch mechanism is thrown into its inoperative position rendering said block idle.

5. In combination with the die of a wire mill, a guide head for the wire provided with a relatively large opening for the free passage of the wire to the die, and a face plate provided with a small hole for the passage of the unsnarled wire to said die mounted to shift over the opening in said guide head.

6. In combination with the die of a wire machine, a guide head for the wire provided with a relatively large opening for the free passage of wire to said die, and a face plate attached to the face of said guide head and provided ywith a small opening for the passage of unsnarled wire to said die, said face plate being mounted to slide freely in all directions over the face of said guide head.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Penna., this 12th day of April, 1916.

JOHN CETNAROWSKI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. Y 

